


4 Foods House Won't Eat (and 1 He Will)

by Delphinapterus



Category: House M.D.
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-30 09:49:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/330414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delphinapterus/pseuds/Delphinapterus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over the whine of mosquitoes he can hear his mother asking if it’s really so important that he keep sitting there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	4 Foods House Won't Eat (and 1 He Will)

**Author's Note:**

> The idea came up when talking to [](http://savemoony.livejournal.com/profile)[**savemoony**](http://savemoony.livejournal.com/) who thinks House probably would eat puffer fish.

**Broccoli**  
Just the taste reminds him of being eight years old and sitting on a hard chair staring at the broccoli on his plate. The overhead fan makes a soft swishing noise but doesn’t move the hot stagnant air. Over the whine of mosquitoes he can hear his mother asking if it’s really so important that he keep sitting there. He has been sitting there since lunch – four hours ago – and he needs to go but he won’t eat the broccoli. The soggy green trees emit a wet bitter smell that makes him want to gag. His father’s voice is dark rumble from the other room and he knows that if his mother tries again it’s going to rise to an angry shout that the neighbors will pretend not to hear.

Sitting in the cafeteria watching Wilson eat broccoli salad from a Tupperware container all he can think about is sitting on a chair. The air tastes too hot and he can’t breathe.  
“You’re not stealing my food.”  
House looks at the broccoli and thinks about stealing it on principal but the thought of it crunching between his teeth makes him ill. He pushed abruptly back from the table and stalks off leaving a startled Wilson with his broccoli laden fork poised in midair.

 **Smarties**  
From a practical point of view M &Ms are bigger and they come in peanut but the real reason is that he stole his first pack of M&Ms and now they bring back that sweet memory. They’d been visiting his father’s brother and he was the only one who couldn’t have candy – punishment for not being polite enough – when they went to the store. That afternoon when the adults are busy he goes back and stuffs one of the dark brown bags of M&Ms into his pocket. He gobbles the first pack in secret and thinks of how his two cousins had to share one box of Smarties. The next day he steals a yellow package and cracks the peanuts with his molars while he is hidden under the back deck and reading a book.

 **Lemonade**  
Lemonade reminds him of summers when they’d just moved to a new base. He’d sit in the kitchen and drink his mother’s too sweet lemonade while pretending that he didn’t miss his friends, no matter how superficial they’d seemed before the move. It’s sweet and just a bit bitter and he tastes it in his mouth while he’s trying to find a place to sleep outside in their new yard. He doesn’t hear the dark growl of his father’s voice and he knows his mother has finally resigned herself to his father’s newest scheme. The lemonade has made his mouth sticky. He feels hot and dirty curling up under the porch so the neighbors won’t see and pity him.

 **Cherry Pie Filling**  
It was Stacy’s guilty pleasure. She liked to eat it straight from the jar, long fingers fishing the cherries out and holding them so she can suck them into her mouth. They aren’t really food he’d say but he’d still kiss her red mouth tasting the sticky sweetness. House wonders if Mark ever lets her eat cherries off his skin. A small part of him wants to think that doesn’t happen because it was their thing and she wouldn’t share it with anyone but he knows that is wishful thinking. He buys a jar once after she leaves but all it does is bring back a memory of a lazy Sunday and Stacy’s tongue licking over his chest as she cleans off the sticky filling. When Wilson makes a cherry pie it’s the first time he refuses to eat something Wilson’s cooked. He can't explain it to Wilson's puzzled hurt stare but he doesn't destroy the pie until Wilson is asleep. If House's eyes are a little wet and he holds on a little tighter that night it's not mentioned.

 **Macadamia Nut Pancakes**  
He never used to like pancakes. They are always too thick, too doughy and the middle was a bit raw because if it got cooked then the outside was black. Wilson’s pancakes don’t even belong in the category of pancakes. They are special, gently golden crispy brown with chopped nuts mixed into them. Small, beautiful circles that taste like a proper morning should; even when the weather is changing and his leg is hurting enough that even three vicodins won’t take all the pain away. Wilson’s pancakes are never raw, never too thick and never burnt. When Wilson makes them House thinks that he just might be touching perfection. He might tease Jimmy about a lot of things – his ties, the stuffed peppers, his fancy roaster – but pancakes will always be off limits. House has nothing but praise for the pancakes.


End file.
